Breaking ground in garden - don't rush in too soon

Mar. 5, 2014

Written by

Jeff Ishee

For the last several weeks, most of our gardens have been under a blanket of snow  several inches deep at some times. With the month of March upon us, it is tempting to get outdoors and just do something in the garden  anything  to celebrate the official arrival of springtime next week when gardening gets underway in earnest. All the seeds have been ordered and the farmers market will open in a few weeks when local growers will offer more plants than one can imagine.

With this lull, I am sorely tempted to crank up the tiller just to hear it run. But the words of my dad come to mind when he always reminded me in early spring: Dont break ground until the ground breaks apart in your hand.

What dad was teaching me was that a garden should never be tilled when wet. With all the snow we have seen this winter, garden soil is saturated with moisture.

It has been a very wet winter, and gardeners should not be too eager to get out and till the soil until it has had ample chance to dry down.

Consider these points:

 Tilling or working wet soil tends to compress soil particles. This makes the soil more compact, preventing roots from being able to penetrate deeply and easily. Farmers worry about this immensely at this time of year and so should hobby gardeners. Compacted soil causes air, water and root penetration to become extremely difficult. Evidence of compacted soil is when you see puddles standing for long periods in the garden.

 Tilling wet soil also tends to cause topsoil to clump into clods. Trust me  these clods will be very difficult to break up after they dry. Trying to establish a good seedbed will be nearly impossible.

 Wait to till the garden until it is good and dry. The condition you are looking for is what farmers often refer to as friability. Wait until the ground is at least dry enough so that when you pick it up it crumbles apart instead of making a wet, muddy ball. Depending on the weather, that may be weeks away. Be patient fellow gardeners  our time will come.